Just the Two of Us
Chapter Six: Portrait of a Demon Family
"Don't expect too much."
The voice stopped Botan from opening the window.
"Huh?" She looked behind and saw Ryo giving her a stern look. She had only met the twins but she could tell the difference from the way they look at her. Ryo's eyes are guarded while Amu's eyes are soft and trusting. "Expect too much from what?"
"From this village," he replied. "I know he'd tell you that this village is peaceful, but that's from a demon's point of view. I don't think you should expect an easy life here. You'd be disappointed."
"I'm not expecting anything." In fact, her mind is blank right now.
"You're just sayin' that. You're a reigen, you have a different idea of how a peaceful village should be. You see, in demon's terms we are living a peaceful life. Because we follow the master's rules. We don't seek war but we fight when we have to. It's not exactly safe here like in Reikai, if that's what you went here for. Got that?"
"Uh-huh. But you know, Reikai isn't exactly safe either. Why else would Koenma-sama send me here if he thinks Reikai is a safe place? Don't worry, Ryo. I try to believe the best of everything, but I know not to expect too much." She grinned. "Still, I'm glad you accepted me here."
"It's not like we have choice." He pouted. "Just telling you, don't do anything crazy around here. The village master will hold us accountable for your actions. Besides, nobody knows yet that you're from Reikai. Everybody will expect that you're a demon. I guess you could just pretend, and you'll be fine. Is that okay with you?"
"Okay, deal!" She said cheerfully. "You know, you look so cute, talking like that."
He frowned. "Like what?"
"Like you're older than your age. I could see you are a very intelligent kid," she said, giving him her warmest smile. "I like you already."
Not knowing how to regard this kind of remark, he just stared at her. And a full minute after, he looked away, took something from his string bag.
Shoving an apple-like fruit towards her, forcing her to take it, he blurted out, "It's yours. I –well, Amu– said he likes you and he hopes you like his gift." And he took off without looking at her.
"Thank you for your gift, Ryo," she shouted to make sure he'd hear.
Botan delighted on observing and enjoying the littlest things.
At first, it took a while to really feel relaxed, for she had heard from the onis who work in Reikai so many times how cruel demons can be, but while days and weeks passed, she realized how different this family is from all those stories, and she eventually grew fonder towards Kurama's family.
Sayako, Kurama's mother, is a shy demoness who tended to her flowers and plants all day. When the night comes, they would prepare food together, and after she would return outside and wait for her husband to come home from hunting. Both don't talk much, but made Botan feel very welcome in their home.
Because Kurama is out on patrol for most of the day, her constant companion is his two brothers, Amu and Ryo, who kept on following her everywhere. Botan dismissed it as mere fascination, for she had been to places the little foxes had never been to, and naturally she had many stories that fed their curious minds.
It was fun to watch how Amu and Ryo would imitate the fighting techniques that they see Kurama practice. They would also have those little debates, and most of it is about Kurama. Amu is very sweet and patronizing to their eldest brother, while Ryo is fond of teasing and criticizing him.
Ryo's most favorite past time is teasing Kurama on his status at the training grounds. He would often tease him as a coward or a wimp.
To it Kurama would say, "Me? You must be mistaken. I will be enlisted as elite before you know it."
And Ryo would say, "Well then, why are you still on patrol if you're really great?"
"Because, there are so many demons training and signing up for patrol and I haven't met Yomi up close, therefore he still haven't the chance to choose me. But you'll see; I'll get there. Don't you believe Botan and Amu when they say so?" he would ask with a wide grin, and a wink towards her.
"No, you're all talk!" Ryo would say, his fox ears twitching. "You're always bribing Amu with something."
"Oh, who's bribing who here? I'm not the one who gives Botan gifts or flowers every day."
"What? Those weren't from me. It's all from Amu, right Amu—?"
And on and on they would go, but it doesn't last long. They would always end up finding something else they would agree on. It was always like that, and the young ones' energetic babblings filled their days with laughter.
For Botan, she was blessed to be a part of a family- something that she didn't have in her previous life. Life may be more dangerous and much less comfortable in Makai, but in all three worlds, this is where she found a place to call home.
When Koenma did not appear for a while, no one questioned it. Botan hoped that everything is going well in Reikai, but admitted to herself that it would be nice if he won't call her back yet. Here, despite that she spends most of her time at the garden and almost rarely go out of the family's property, she felt carefree. Maybe it's the absence of Reikai's security cameras, and how there's no need for formality that is much expected of everyone in the palace…
The days in Makai are lazy and slow, but Botan enjoys every day she spent there. For her, the best part of the day is when Kurama arrives. No matter how tired, he would find time for them.
When his family retreats to their rooms, they would sneak out into the garden. It was the perfect place, Botan thought; to discuss anything they wanted to talk about. The darkness of the sky opposes the openness of the garden, giving them enough sense of privacy. Everyday is like the days they spent at the Horizon.
At one point, Botan wondered how she never got bored in the village. She stayed home most of the day and only goes outside when Kurama is with her. She wonders how just being with Kurama could fill her need for a companion. She had always enjoyed the presence of the crowd, of having many friends, and yet now it seems that she needed only him.
Another thing she wonders about is how all her questions seem to fade into thin air when he's there. Just how he can do that, she couldn't guess. All she knows is that when he's around, there is nothing else she wanted more.
There was that night when she told him that the village is like a huge clan. She explained to him what clans are in ningenkai and that she sees how the villagers give importance to the orderliness of their place just like ningens do.
"Clans are like a huge family. They are not necessarily blood-related but they treat each other as if they are part of one close-knit family…"
Kurama fell silent for a while, seemingly taking in what she said. They were sitting cross-legged and facing each other, and Kurama looked up at the sky.
"I agree," he finally said. "This whole village is like a clan. We treat each other as if we are of the same lineage though we are not. You have probably noticed, we are from different species of demons – the only similarity is that all have sensitive hearing and have extra senses…"
Botan nodded though he couldn't see her.
"I've always wondered… is it just that makes us progress? The extra senses? What makes us different from the other groups in Makai? Why are we progressive and why are they not? And now that you have mentioned about clans… I think that's part of it. The way we treat everyone as part of a clan."
He now looked back to her.
"But it can't be just that, though it may be part of the reason… And not just skill. Not just discipline. It's something else… something I don't see. Perhaps I don't see it because I've grown up here and it's something I am used to. So tell me, Botan, do you see what it is?"
"I think I do." She smiled. "Things like that are invisible to our eyes sometimes."
"What is, exactly?"
"Your heart. Your love for this place. That part of you that makes you want to progress… to do something with your life other than mindless fighting. Everyone knows how, Kurama. But not everyone yearns for it. Something like peace and progress cannot be achieved without giving your heart to it. That's what's different between your clan and theirs."
"Our clan." Kurama corrected.
"Yes. Our clan," she repeated. "I guess I'm now part of a family. A demon family," she whispered, smiling. She never dreamed nor imagined herself being part of a demon family, but now it seems like it's the most normal thing. As long as it is Kurama's family, she would love to stay as a part of it.
Soo. I decided to pick up those pending chapters I've been telling you about. (The ones I've written months ago and couldn't find time to proofread but are almost ready to upload? :p) I'm rereading them tonight and Ill try to upload up to chapter eight in a few hours…
Short chapter.. but don't worry, the next one's longer! Thank you for reading :)